Game Preparation

FLORIDA CITRUS BOWL - Citrus Bowl - This morning

January 2, 1992|By Bill Buchalter and Gary Graves of The Sentinel Staff

HOW DID Cal and Clemson relax the night before bowl kickoff? Both teams went to the movies on New Year's Eve. Clemson players had a choice between The Last Boy Scout and The Addams Family. Cal players went to The Last Boy Scout. Coaches estimated 90 percent of Clemson's players went to the gory Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans movie about football and the mob. Clemson's Hatfield opted to watch The Addams Family.

''I remember the old Addams Family,'' Hatfield said. ''They used to be so dry. They were fun.''

BUNGEE JUMPING

WATCHING CAL quarterback Mike Pawlawski stand tall in the face of Clemson's pass rush, it was understandable to learn that one of his most exhilarating moments during Citrus Bowl week came while bungee jumping.

Pawlawksi was among 17 Cal players and a half-dozen Clemson players who participated in the activity. Pawlawski had plenty of protection. He was joined by the entire Cal offensive line except for 345-pound Onsemo Sagapolu. You can't bungee jump if you weigh more than 300 pounds.

Their feet secured to the bungee cord, the players were dropped 150 feet and jerked back. One Cal player came within 20 feet of the safety air bag, and one Clemson player reportedly touched the bag.

''It's a serious rush of adrenaline,'' Pawlawski said.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE

REFEREE LLOYD Dale, who headed the Southwest Conference crew assigned to the game by the NCAA, was one of three game officials who were working their second Florida Citrus Bowl. Dale, umpire Joe Darden and line judge Roger Rogers also worked the Virginia-Illinois game, won by Illinois, 31-21, on Jan. 1, 1990. Dale has been a football official for 27 years and hinted at retirement.

FLORIDA TIES

A NUMBER of Clemson players and coaches have Florida ties, but not all were as obvious as Florida State University graduate Rick Stockstill and University of Florida grads Larry Brinson, Jim Goodman and Larry Beckman, who were besieged by old friends and well-wishers this week.

Hulking 335-pound defensive tackle Chester McGlockton, for example, is from Whiteville, N.C., but he grew up in tiny Bristol, near Tallahassee.

''He was in school in Bristol until the seventh grade,'' said Goodman, Clemson's recruiting coordinator. ''He still has a lot of family in Bristol and the Tallahassee area.''

Clemson kickoff returner Lance Easton took a circuitous route to the Tigers. He is from Fernandina Beach, where he played for Joel Stockstill, Rick's father. He originally signed with Eastern Kentucky as a quarterback but left there and transferred to Clemson, where he was familiar with Stockstill.

TIGERS CHANGE IMAGE

APPARENTLY THE Tigers have changed their image, if not their stripes. Sure, they were whistled for four personal fouls and two ejections, but several players said they were just in retaliation for acts initiated by Cal players.

Their perceived image bugged Cal coach Bruce Snyder, who criticized the media for playing up the Bears' bravado. Although he conceded his players have gone too far sometimes, making them out as the PAC-10's version of Miami was unnecessary.

''I understand that players say some things they regret, but I thought the way we were characterized was pretty shabby all week,'' said Snyder, who didn't elaborate.